Back in Time | Aspen

“Promptly as the midnight whistles blew last night, the saloons of this city were closed,” the Aspen Daily Times announced on Sept. 1, 1895.

“No sooner had the hour arrived when the proprietors said to their patrons: ‘Boys, you’ll have to get out; the new orders must be obeyed, and we must close; it is 12 o’clock.’ Within a few minutes, there were 150 men on the sidewalk in front of those places along Cooper avenue. They had just emerged from the resorts, and the majority had been engaged at the card tables and faro layouts but a short while previously. Everything shut up immediately without protest, with the officers, who were well distributed over the town to see that each and every man obeyed the new law. It was the first time in the history of Aspen when the saloon and gambling houses in saloons were closed day or night except on election days.”

“Back in Time” is contributed by Aspen Historical Society and features excerpted articles and images from past Snowmass Sun/Aspen Times issues. We can’t rewrite history, but we can learn from it! Visit archiveaspen.org to view the vast Aspen Times photographic collection in the AHS Archives.

Aspen Historical Society actively preserves and passionately presents local history in an inspired and provocative manner that will continue to anchor the local community and its evolving character. For more, visit aspenhistory.org.